Gun Nuts Media – by CalebThere are guns that are truly great and will stand the test of time. The 1911, the Glock 17, the AR15, the M1 Garand. Legends, and rightfully so because they’ve earned their place in history. Some guns served on the wrong side of wars, but represented innovations like the Walther P38 or the STG44. But what about guns that everyone says are great, but are actually kind of terrible? Some are propped up by lingering nostalgia, others are popular because of their price point, but for whatever reason, people love them…even if they’re not very good. So get out your stadium hats and start chanting with me: “OVER-RATED! OVER-RATED!” as we look at the 5 Most Overrated Guns of All Time.
5. The Mosin-Nagant
If I’d written this list 7 years ago, this entry would have gone to the SKS; but as prices have climbed, the SKS is no longer the darling of the TapCo catalog, it’s simply another $250 C&R rifle. The Mosin-Nagant on the other hand? Well it’s now number 5 on this list, because it’s adored by an entire generation of internet fanboys who are too poor to buy a proper rifle, and can’t appreciate a $100 C&R gun for what it is. “If I put $400 worth of crap on my Mosin, it’s just as good as a Ruger American Rifle!” No, you fedora wearing neckbeard, it isn’t. It’s a $100 C&R rifle that’s fought itself in every major war since WW1 and lost every time. But that’s not good enough, because people need to justify their purchases, so instead of just enjoying it, these spazoids have to pretend that they’ve bought a WW2 sniper rifle while they watch Enemy at the Gates for the 3,299th time in their mother’s basement.
4. The Luger
The love affair with the Luger is perplexing. I blame movies. Yes, it’s an interesting piece of machinery, and it represents a great historical niche in guns. It was also a pretty awful service sidearm and was replaced as fast as possible with literally better in every way Walther P38. As collector’s items they’re neat, but that’s also created and absolutely insane market for them, so that even run of the mill samples will set you back close to $1,000. But, like I said, I blame Hollywood. Lugers show up in basically every movie that involves Germans as good guys or bad guys, regardless of whether or not it’s appropriate or period correct for the character to be carrying a Luger. Hell, even in the new Wolfenstein game, set in an alternate history where the Nazis won, you’re still getting saddled with a bunch of toggle-bolt full auto Lugers. People love Lugers because they look cool, and apparently that’s all that matters.
3. The AK47
Ah, the AK47. Beloved by people who want a rifle that holds the same number of rounds as an AR15, but don’t want an AR15 despite it having superior ergonomics, sights, and accuracy. The real legacy of the AK is that it’s a rifle designed to be used by literally the dumbest human beings on the planet, and in that role it excels. But…it’s not really a very good rifle. Its legendary reputation for reliability is mostly grounded in the same ‘Nam era war stories that make people think that M16s aren’t reliable. It’s earned this legendary reputation for mechanical reliability…which turns out to pretty much be just that, a legend. But the internet will tell you forever that “nothing can jam an AK”…until one does malfunction, then they’ll say “well that was a Bulgarian AK, not a true Russian model so it’s inferior garbage.” Whatever you say. Go rewatch Red Dawn (the good one) and tell your AK that it’s “just as good” as an AR15. If you say it enough, maybe you’ll start believing it.
2. The M14
I’d be worried about people getting out their pitchforks and torches and burning my house down because I’m defaming their beloved M14, but most M14 fanboys can’t get off the couch without a chair-lift anyway. Here is a typical M-14/M1A fan:
Our love affair for this gun is utterly bizarre. It lasted about 12 seconds as our main service rifle and was replaced by the M16 which has been soldiering on for damn near 50 years now. Meanwhile the M14 is relegated to use as the occasional DMR rifle, and even there it’s getting replaced by longer barreled M16s and AR pattern rifles in .308, because they’re better. People who love the M14 have spent too much time reading about how the .223 is a “poodle shooter” and think that everything would be better if we all just went back to the 1960s so we could hit women and get day drunk at work. The sad thing about M-14 fanboys is that it’s not even the best .308 of the era, the FAL is better by pretty much every single metric. The best thing you can say about the M14 is that it has a perfect one-shot stop record on Vincent D’Onofrio.
1. The Springfield XD (all flavors)
Here’s your typical XD buyer: A guy who wants a polymer framed, striker fired handgun, but for whom the extra $100 for a Glock or M&P is too much. So instead he settles for the XD, and like anyone who takes their silver medal, must defend his choice vigorously to all comers. The XD enjoys all the benefits of the “Springfield” brand name, with all the quality control Croatia can muster! Because oh yeah, when I think quality firearms, I think “Croatia.” And you know what’s worse? Slapping the Springfield logo on the XD is what really ruins it, because when it was the HS2000 and cost $300, it would have made total sense. I would have climbed over mountains of Tauruses to get an XD, but nooooooo we have to import them with a reputable brand name and upcharge them to $450 for the base model. Now a new XDm will cost the same or even more than a Glock or M&P, which is just madness. It’s like walking into a car dealer and saying “yes, I’d like to pay $50,000 for a Camry” while the dealer himself is trying to sell you a BMW or a Mercedes.
Say it with me, everyone: “OVER-RATED! OVER-RATED!”
http://www.gunnuts.net/2014/12/04/the-5-most-overrated-guns-of-all-time/
The Mosin-Nagant
“rifle that’s fought itself in every major war since WW1 and lost every time.”
Please enlighten me as to which wars you claim were lost every time.
(Only Afghanistan, which was won by issuing tens of thousands of Stinger and Tow missiles. )
As for the AK47, it is way more reliable than any of the alternatives, to the point where most SF operators would chuck their issued rifles and pick up the first AK they came across.I am happy to discuss the 7.62 AK versus any of the 5.56 alternatives
weapons choices are all personal , cant really say ones better then the other when if it functions and saves your life , well its the best
people will hype up or down what ever they personally dont like , thats why there are so many different guns.
Alot of what goes into what makes a good gun is the person operating said gun ..and knowing every thing about its capabilities , sure it might fall short one place or another , but who carries just one platform of defense ?
# 5 Mosin-Nagant
OK, I’ll agree with you on this one. I have never owned one of these rifles but know someone who does because he’s a cheap scape.
#4 Luger
Another one I’ll agree with.
#3 AK47
I considered buying one of these but decided that its stamped sheet metal appearance was just too utilitarian for my tastes.
#2 M14 / M1A
I have the M1A and look NO where near the guy in the photo. I could actually hump this rifle and about 200-300 rounds of ammo through the trenches if I had to. It was the closest thing I could get to the M1 Garand without actually getting one through the CMP.
#1 The Springfield XD series.
I don’t own one of these but a guy I work with does. And as you have stated, I don’t think of “quality” when I see MADE in CROATIA. I’ll take my Springfield Mil-Spec 1911 over this any day.
Wow, this guy really sounds like an opinionated jerk on just about every level. I say this, because back in the good ole days of dart leagues, I knew a lot of snooty pricks like this. They’d talk trash about all the darts they didn’t like and hold up their expensive pro darts as tournament proven. In the end, it all boiled down to one thing, the operator of the dart.
On more occasions than I can properly remember due to the alcohol consumption, I’ve been witness to a very righteous series of happenings. My brother was and still is a monster dart thrower. When the trash talk started, the wagers came out. My brother and whatever house flies (These crusty, bent tip, warped flight, nicked shaft, out of balance darts were the Mosin Nagants of the dart world. Readily available for all to throw.) were laying around the bar, versus the trash talker and his Primadona pro darts. Almost every single time, my brother would utterly destroy them in a best 2 out of 3 Cricket match using the most broken down and reviled house darts.
So you see children, the moral of this story is quite simple. A disciplined individual skilled at their craft is far more important than the tools you’re using. Yes, having nice and shiny tools with decades of proven worthiness is a nice thing, but counts for jack diddly where operator skill is concerned. The author of this article is a douche that needs to meet my brother.
Thank you
you said it way better then I could
Absolutely, most eloquently put! The author “Caleb” also has another great story:
“If there’s one stupid gun-myth that seems to go on living forever that I’d like to destroy, it’s that direct impingement AR15s aren’t reliable. Just keep lube on the gun and it’s fine.”
Try that with Russian surplus steel case Caleb and get back to me. It won’t be your indoor range with clean, expensive top of the line ammo and the option to field strip and clean your safe-queen every 100 rounds when shtf and you need it most.
Me thinks he speaks from the other hole with the different voice but the same breath!
This article has a bit of a bias to it and seems to have been written by a yuppie minion. To say the Mosin and the AK and the M-14 are junk proves it. Wonder if he drives a BMW or a Porsche?
the guy who rote this is a dick!
th ak47 is a weapon of war, not a civilian low calibre rifle like the AR15.
and when it was designed, there was no AR15, it was up against stuff like the M1.
he’s bitching about stuff without taking the age into account.
i also dont think the AR has a 39rd magazine as std.
Vietnam Vet and one who knows and talked to Afghan and Iraqi vets, including many Special Forces from several services who have seen extensive combat.
This guy is full of dog poop.
1. AK-47: Admittedly made with loose tolerances and simply mechanics to allow for both better reliability, which it has, hands down, and easily taught to younger and academically challenged peoples. Many marines and special forces teams will tell you how their “16’s jammed and then they picked up AK’s, which then worked flawlessly in the same environment and saved their lives. And documentation indicates that the German engineer’s captured by Russia in WWII, the inventors of the ST-44 and the other German machine guns of the highest quality, were the real creators of the AK-47. AK-47’s, one of the cheapest out of the box has combat accuracy (i.e. can hit a man sized target) out to 400m. I do it consistently and then some.
2. M-16: The newest models, especially those that have “civilian” upgrades, like the “Mid 16”, upgraded springs, buffers, ejectors, and bolts, work flawlessly: Now with the new NiB coatings, this weapon works even better. A good sighted 16 can hit a man sized target at up to 750m, and maybe more.
3. M-14: Had its day, but was more adapted to long range targets, the 16, is better adapted to closer range targets. A good sighted 14 will have combat accuracy out to 1000 yards with sufficient knock down energy. Dependable, but a bit heavy, like the M1. Used as a secondary sniper rifle by many today.
4. XD: Have both XD’s and Glocks, and shoot both extensively. In my opinion, both are about equal in quality and performance, both have very small differences that are desirable. Given the choice between the two, I would take the XD, from my experience.
We could go on and on here: However, the author of this article is full of dog poop, does not know what he is talking about, is ignorant of the history, re-liabilities, uses, proficiency, integrity, combat reputation, mechanics, and other factors associated with these weapons. In short, this article sounds like it comes from an anti-gunner, yuppy, non-combat, piece of shit.
This guy is a idiot. Anyone who bases there purchase on what this hack has to say needs to be pulled aside quickly before they waste their money. Ak47 is a billy goat, meaning it’ll eat up any junk ammo you can feed it. Try and run steel cased or lacquer covered 5.56 through your $2k ar. It’ll jam before you can empty the mag and the lacquer will gum it up after 4-5 mags. If you like pretty rifles they constantly have to modify then go waste your money. As far as the mosin, they’re still selling and there’s a reason. People respect and fear a 7.62x54r. It’ll drop almost anything in Africa.
I can not think of a single gun iv owned or fired that sucked.
Some took longer to get use to than others.
For me I hate the M-16. Not one but TWO floating sites! How the heck do you know you are sited in unless there is another person or two ‘helping’ you. It took me almost 10 YEARS to become an Expert Marksman in the USAF and I am a GREAT shot with FIXED sights. Give me a rifle that I can shoot with and I will take anything out!
I am sorry…give me a gun like the M-14 and I will take your head off in one shot…an M-16 maybe/possibly in 30 shots…
M-16 is a waste of good steal and lead.
This writer wouldn’t know a gun from a banana with his article.